Wake up little garden!

It's barely warm enough to be outside without a coat, it's supposed to snow tonight BUT it's officially spring so time to get in the garden !!!! DR tilled yesterday which madee so excited and we received seeds in the mail (which made it feel like Christmas ) and now all I have to do is wait a month or so before I dare plant anything!! How about you? Are your waking your garden up yet?

Garden Dirt Clod Fight

The other day I decided it was time to dig up my sweet potatoes. Yes, I know we haven't had a freeze yet but I decided I'd rather dig when the weather was pleasant than cold and windy. While the weather was pleasant I was also able to get more willing helpers! Yip, Yap and the neighbor boy helped me scrounge through the dirt, after I dug, to dig out those big red tubers! Yum! Sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving! 

After we were all done the boys decided that that freshly turned earth was too good to pass up and they proceeded to have a dirt clod fight! I did warn them that if they were going to throw dirt clods that I wouldn't tolerate any whining if they got HIT with one. 

Winding up! 

I often tease Yip that his body movements mirror Captain Jack Sparrow. Sometimes his arms and legs are all akimbo but they always tend to land just where he wants them too, though I often fear he's going to just trip over his own feet! 

It's harder than you think getting a good photo of a dirt clod. 

My boys are getting too dang tall!! Yap there is one size away from he and I wearing the same size shoes! 

And here are my wonderful, small, but glorious crop of taters curing in my kitchen. Another couple of days and I'll make myself a batch of sweet potato fries before I store up the rest. 

DR and I love sweet potatoes. The kids..not so much. Anyone have a great sweet potato recipe to win over my kids, not involving marshmallows, that you could share with me? 

Preschool Carrots

I have to admit that, for the last year or so, I've had a hard time coming up with blog posts. Or maybe it's not that I don't have things to write about but rather I don't think my stories are that interesting. But I was talking to my mom this morning on my drive to my foot doctor and as I was filling her in on the latest goings on in southwest Kansas she would say, "I thought I'd see a blog post on that" or "I saw so and so last night and she was telling me how she keeps up with your blog". So and so happens to be someone I haven't probably seen in 15 years! Maybe it's time then to start posting , what I think, are some of my more boring stories. First up....pulling carrots.

Yahoo has started preschool this year and she loves it! Every morning she's excited to get up and go and every afternoon she rattles on about what she did that day at school. I love this preschool too. It's through the public school so I'm not paying tuition like I did with the boys in Illinois. She goes a half day every day and best of all it's only two blocks from our front door. Her teacher is young and only in her second year and she's great! Mrs. Lang is so energetic and open to all kinds of new things. I thought the preschoolers and their teacher may like to take a "field trip" to my garden so on Monday they came down to to visit me. I think teachers and schools should use as many resources in their community as possible and I'm all for volunteering my space and skills! 

Their class has 8 girls and 3 boys, poor boys! They were so quiet standing there as I talked, well all but Yahoo. We talked about how plants start as seeds and what they need to grow. They searched out my tomatoes and zucchini and helped me pick them. Then we looked at the carrots and talked about how some plants grow under ground while some grow where you can see them. The highlight for the kids was when each got to grab a handful of carrot stems and pull. Don't worry, I moistened the soil up really well for them to make picking much easier. Once pulled they counted how many they picked, usually four or five a piece. They all wanted to pick more!!! (Wish I could have taken pics but I kind of had my hands full and dirty.) We didn't have time to clean the carrots they picked but I sent some carrots I had picked earlier with Mrs. Lang that they could have for a snack. 

I was more than happy to share my garden with them and see them so excited about growing things. Later that day when I picked up the kids, not only do I get Yahoo but I walk three others to their day care which is our neighbor, they talked all about my garden and so I asked them if they enjoyed the carrots. A couple had no qualms telling me they didn't like my carrots at all. Got to love their honesty! 

Maybe this spring Mrs. Lang would be interested in bringing them all down to plant some seeds! Wouldn't THAT be fun! 

Free Weeds!

I found the cutest sign on Pinterest; FREE WEEDS! 

Doesn't every gardener need a sign like this? 

I decided to make my own. I found an old cabinet door sitting in my garage. 

I gave it a couple coats of primer. 

Then a coat of some leftover blue paint. While it was still wet I wiped some of the blue paint off with a rag to try and give it a bit of distressed look. 

Then I free handed some lettering. I could have gotten all fancy but really, it's a sign for a garden. I think it should be kind of rustic. 

I took some sandpaper to it to make it look even a bit more distressed then hung it up on our garden fence. 

I'm thinking it might need a bit more sanding for an even rougher look. 

In our little town quite a few people go walking in the early morning or evening right by our garden so my little sign is sure to get some attention. I'm sure I'll get plenty of laughs from it but really, I'm hoping someone will take my sign serious! Doesn't every gardener wish some passerby would take them up on the offer of taking the free weeds? 

Bountiful is thy harvest! RELISH in it!

My garden is doing really well this summer. It's amazing what a bit of rain and some cool weather will do for growing plants! The last two summers were practically 3 months straight 100 degree and higher days with no rain. This summer however, we've actually had rain! Nothing like back home in Indiana but we've had a few inches of rian this summer. The cool temps have been nice too. We've even had some days down into the 80's! 

My carrot patch is doing well. I've been able to pick some carrots every few days. There isn't anything better than fresh veggies from the garden and I just love the smell of garden carrots. 

A couple little eggplants, some zucchini and some kale. My biggest garden blessing however has been cucumbers! Last week I picked two dozen in the span of two days. Every summer when y cucumbers first come on Yip, Yap and Yahoo have no problem eating any cucumber I pick but inevitably, as the summer goes by their willingness to eat all the cucumbers dwindles. This morning I found myself with a refrigerator full of cucumbers which means it was time to do some canning! 

I decided it was time for relish. 

I ground up my veggies in my food processor. Do you know how painful it is to grind up 12 onions?  Lots of tears in my kitchen this mornin'! 

The veggies were ground up and a bit of salt stirred in and then allowed to sit for an hour. Then I drained the juice off. I had a huge bowl of ground cukes and I found it easiest to place my cutting board over my bowl of veggies. 

After adding some vinegar and spices we set the relish to boil. I had to break it up into two batches! Whew, that's a lot of relish! 

I ended up with 15 pints of relish AND 11 pints of dill pickles. I think it might be wise not to plant cucumbers next year. Someone better remind me of that come May!

My relish recipe was one I received from a dear friend from back home in Indiana. 

Jenine's Relish

2 quarts ground cucumbers and/or zucchini

12 small onions, ground (about 1 qt)

4 peppers

2 1/2 t. salt

Grind up all veggies and add salt and mix together. Allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain the juice then add the following; 

3 cups of sugar

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. tumeric

2 t. celery seed

2 cups vinegar 

Bring relish to a boil. Ladle into hot jars then allow to self seal. 

*I know that it's not recommended to allow jars to self seal when canning but when I get a recipe from someone who's been canning for longer than I've been alive well, I tend to trust them. If Jenine told me to allow jars to self seal I trust I won't die!*

I've even had so many cucumbers that I've given lots and LOTS away. A friend of mine took a bag full then brought me this the next day. 

Fresh Cucumber Salad

7 cups unpeeled pickling cucumbers sliced thin (about 7 large dills)
1 cup sliced onions
1 cup sliced bell peppers
1 T salt
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard seed

Mix cucumbers, onions, peppers and salt; set a side
Put vinegar, sugar, celery seed and mustard seed in a pot and bring to a boil
Remove from heat and let cool for one hour
Pour mixture over cucumbers
Put in jars and store in refrigerator
Will keep up to 2 months

Makes 2 quart jars

Yes, I've had a blessed garden this year. Now, if only I could say that my tomatoes were blessed as well. They've been hammered by blight! Half of them have died and half of those that survived aren't producing tomatoes. *sigh* maybe next year my tomatoes will be better. 

My garden is my Soul food.

We've had a lovely month of May in SW Kansas! Well, if you can forget about the snow we had on May 1st and the 100+ temps on May 15th...the rest of the month has been rather cool and just great for my garden! 

My peas and beans popped up super fast and are looking wonderful! 

I spent the morning weeding so now they look even better. 

Gosh...maybe I should have taken these photos AFTER I weeded. I didn't realize how many weeds I had in my photos. I guess that just goes to show I'm looking on the bright sides of things; my vegetables rather than my weeds :) 

Ummmm....I think this is Swiss Chard. I have a bad habit of planting things and not labeling them, thinking that I'll remember what it is that I planted. One of these days...ONE OF THESE DAYS I WILL label my garden....it just may be a few years! 

And look I even have a tiny bloom on my tomatoes! My friend in Texas is already harvesting grape tomatoes off her plants...I'm so jealous! 

Spring is wonderful, heck every season is wonderful but Spring is the time I look forward to my favorite smell; soil! I love getting dirt on my feet and under my nails. I know lots of folks think that I'm crazy working so hard for a tiny garden that economically probably isn't worth it. My garden may not be worth it money wise but the work is more than worth it when it comes to the good my garden does for my soul!! 

Watering our Garden with Drip Tape

We are trying something new in our garden this year; a drip tape. Yap and DR put it in part of it last weekend after I had planted a few things; beans, peas, carrots, cucumbers, onions. 

Half inch tubing is hooked up to the garden house, then quarter inch tubing with tiny holes in them are attached to the large tubing and then arranged through the garden. Below he's stretched the drip lines through the beans and peas. 

DR had bought a kit with the 1/4" tubing and connectors included but he soon realized that he needed more tubing and a little different set up. 

Purdue clothing is scarce in Kansas so any black and gold care packages would always be appreciated by DR! LOL 

DR set up the drip system so the water drips directly above my cucumber seeds. The picture below was taken after I'd left the water on for about 45 minutes. I think it's really going to work well. It seems as though my plants are starting off quickly and there is a LOT less water usage. In fact when we turn on the water faucet we don't put it on  full blast, like we would have last summer with a soaker house, but we barely turn the knob on at all. 

Is it just me or do my cucumber hills look like 4 sets of breasts? 

We only planted a week ago and my cucumbers are already coming up, that's sooo much better than last year! Last year I never thought my cucumbers would come up. 

There is a little tweaking that needs to be done though. The left side, above, is getting more water than the right side because it's going down hill so, there's probably a better way to arrange the tubing but we're learning. 

Tomorrow I'll put in my tomato plants and the rest of the garden. I'm pretty optimistic about this watering system; a lot more direct and less waste, and less evaporation.  

Spring is in the air. I just received some in the mail!!!

Today the weather in southwest Kansas is sunny and upper 40's, lower 50's. Tomorrow the temps might hit 60 and Sunday close to 70!! Don't ask about next week though, it goes downhill on Monday. Typical. 

No doubt about it though spring is on it's way. Spring in SW Kansas definitely come much sooner than what I was used to in northern Indiana. The first summer DR and I planted a garden here we did it much too late in May. May is good for Indiana but late March or April seems to be the planting season out here. In Indiana where we planted everything in May and had one garden harvest in the fall, Kansas is different. It stays so warm here for so long that last summer our garden was able to produce a double crop of vegetables like cucumbers  and beans. A double crop was something I'd never heard of in northern Indiana!! 

Though we can get a double crop out of our Kansas garden I really would prefer a single Indiana crop and Indiana rain. Please pray for Kansas. They've been in a severe drought ever since I've lived here and this year doesn't look to be any different. Who knew I'd miss 80% humidity? 

Despite the water woes, I am getting antsy to get into my garden. So much so that I already ordered my garden seeds...and received them just yesterday! How's that for a Valentines gift? I think I was more excited over my seeds than any candy/flowers/cards I could have received! 

Cucumbers and Zucchini...yes, zucchini. Carrots and Chard. Broccoli and Beans and Peas. 

That's not all though. I'm still waiting for a set of white onions and sweet potatoes. I think I've gotten DR into trying to raise the potatoes in a box built from pallets. We'll see how that goes. 

http://tipnut.com/grow-potatoes/

And of course, I couldn't have a garden without planting tomatoes for my Running Soup. We have a great greenhouse that I'll buy plants from. Last year she talked me into buying eggplants! Who knows what I might plant this year. Though I have ruled out okra, never again. That stuff just grows too dang fast to keep up with!

I'm checking out the calendar trying to decide when I might be able to get into my garden this year. I'm excited. I love going out every morning and working in the garden. 

What about you? Are you excited for spring? Do you have garden plans in the works? What kind of vegetables should I try? 

Garden of the Gods

Our last stop in Colorado Springs before we went home was Garden of the Gods on Sunday morning. Truly, it was like walking in a garden that God had planted. 

One thing you have to understand about Colorado Springs is the town is situated at the base of the Rocky Mountains. And as you are driving to Colorado from Kansas it's not, "Oh, we've crossed the state line...there are mountains!" Eastern Colorado is as flat as Kansas. I always thought that as we approached the mountains there would be a gradual incline or at least a build up of hills up to the Rockies. But instead it's; prairie....prairie....prairie....BAM MOUNTAINS!!! 

And Garden of the Gods is BAM right there at the bottom! They are huge red rocks that looks as though they've been planted at the foot of the mountains. 

There were so many beautiful places! It was breathtaking! I took more photos here than any other place we visited. It's probably a good thing we didn't come here first because I probably wouldn't have left. I probably would have tried to sweet talk my husband into trying a popular activity at Garden of the Gods.....

....ROCK CLIMBING!! 

Can you see that climber?? Garden of the Gods is free to the public and it's open to all climbers, as long as they notify the park that they are there. The park even gives family rock climbing lessons! Doesn't that sound awesome??? I'd love to learn to rock climb but unfortunately we ran out of time and my husband wouldn't have agreed anyway! 

Though we didn't go rock climbing with hooks and ropes there were plenty of fun places to explore. 

"Are you coming Mom?"

"OOOH that's a tight fit!"

"AAAUUUGGGHHH! I'm stuck!"

"Oh, you silly boys, that's so easy!"

One of the neatest sights was seeing these teeny trees growing in the crack of a rock. 

Can you say tenacity? 

I love Colorado. It's just gorgeous! If the economy was better or if I could find someone to pay me to hike everyday, I could see myself living there. No grain elevators though, oh what would DR do? 

Think I could convince him to raise buffalo?